I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was spent in the sun playing in the playoffs for the slo-pitch team I (semi) begrudgingly play for. We ended up tied for 3rd and I have the most amazing sunglasses tan.

For those of you who follow me on Twitter, will know that I had a mild panic attack earlier today. I had to book airfare and I just have a hard time spending so much money so quickly. But, I know in the end it will totally be worth it.

I'm going to New Zealand!!

I am so excited! I'll be meeting my boyfriend over there and we'll br driving the North Island with his brother and cousin for about a week before he heads back home. Then I'm going to stay for another 10 days and see more of the island and catch up with a couple friends.
The worst part about booking a trip is the anticipation that comes. I can hardly wait to leave. I just imagine the next 25 days crawling by just to torment me.
But in the meantime, I get to think about all the things to bring with me and how they'll fit into my backpack.

On Wednesdays you can look forward to me venting about the crazy things that I'm fortunate enough to witness throughout the week. Most of the things I rant about here will be elaborated versions of the things I tweet about. So please, feel free to add your own WTF? and Rants in the comments section, or feel free to send them to me.

Crocs

Last week, I realized that the Crocs store had finally opened on Robson St. First off, why are they called Crocs? They don't resemble crocodiles. Or any other reptile for that matter. Second, how is it that people can look at them and say, "Now these, these I can wear with EVERYTHING!" Wrong. You can't. I will forgive you if you wear them in the garden, to take out the trash, or pretty much so that you aren't caught dead in them in public. But to wear them as actual shoes? To the store? To the mall? A restaurant? No. That is where I draw the line. I don't care if they're comfortable, they're ugly. And you look like a moron. To all you UGG haters, there is something worse. Crocs.

The One Handed Glove Man

There is this man that I see on the skytrain almost every morning. He wears one black glove. To protect his hand from germs, obvs. I have some issues with this: 1) it's not one of those gloves that the Asian women wear to drive, it's a glove. A winter, woolen glove. It's summer. Hottest one we've had, and this man is wearing a winter glove. And only one. 2) Why just one glove? Why not two? 3) They have this thing called hand sanitizer. I think that it might get rid of 99.9% of germs from such places like public transit. 4) What happens if you find yourself in a situation where you can't use the hand that the glove is on? Do you switch? Or are you the jerk who doesn't hold on and relies on other people to hold you up?

Women Who Wear Sneakers to Work

Ok. I see this way, way, WAY too often. It is seriously going to make me blind. My brain actually hurts when I see it. I will get wrinkles because I cringe so hard. Why is it that women (mostly older, but I've also seen younger) insist on wearing running shoes with not only dress pants, but also with dresses/skirts and nylons or dresses/skirts and nylons with socks. I can totally understand if you're going to go run a marathon in those clothes. In fact, I'd like to see it. What's the point? Going for a run at lunch? Carry your running shoes in an eco-friendly bag. Leave them at work and just bring a new pair of socks. For the love of God, wear them on your hands (like gloves), just stop wearing them with your work clothes! You look stupid. But my favourite, are the women who change into said shoes to go get lunch. If the shoes you wear at work are not comfortable enough to walk a block or so to get lunch and you would rather put on your ratty, smelly sneakers, then maybe you need new shoes. They're called flats and they're quite comfortable.

I was browsing through ShopBop's sale earlier today. Specifically the 70% off page because for 2 days only, they're taking off an extra 30% (of the already reduced 70% items). Fabulous! The last time I had browsed the 70% off pages, there were oodles of things I had lusted after. But at the time, I was on my self-imposed shopping ban.

Let's just say that what I found on those 70% off pages was...disappointing to say the least. We'll let the pictures do the talking...

Yes, VPL stands for exactly what you think it does: Visible Panty Line. Not only would I not want to buy this for the name, but it's hideous. It looks like something Richard Simmons would wear circa 1970...or well, circa 2009 for that matter. Is he their target consumer? Because the only way I would pay money for this, is if I got it at Value Village for less than $10...and it was for a costume party.

When I first saw this, I thought that the dress was eating the poor model. The dress seems so heavy for her slight frame. Even though it's blue, this is kind of how I envision what wearing a sack would look like. I mean, Ariel in the Little Mermaid wore a cuter ensemble when she was first found by Prince Eric on the beach. And the sleeves on this dress remind me of a pantomime.

ShopBop always has stuff that I like, but it also has insane things like these 2 beauties that just make me cringe. Ah well, at least they never disappoint!

Last week in Vancouver, the weather was all over the map. It was warm enough out, but the clouds just wouldn't go away. I had gotten into a bit of an outfit rut for work as of late...that is until I found one of my favourite shirts! It's old and I'm not sure if it's even made anymore, but I absolutely love the cut of this tank; it's so flattering and can be both appropriate for the office or a night out.

But today isn't just any Friday. Friday's like this one are few and far between. They're like shooting stars or an eclipse. They bring me such joy that the world pretty much comes to a halt. It's Friday. It's the Yankees and the Red Sox.

It's 3 days of baseball glory. The greatest rivalry in the history of sports.

It's no secret that I'm a huge Yankee fan. Why should it be? They're amazing. And yes, they do boast the highest payroll in the MLB, but so what? They can afford it. Are you telling me that if any other GM had that kind of money that they wouldn't do the same thing? Let's be realistic! The Yankees make me happy and it's a shame that I'm not able to watch more of their games. But the ones I do get to watch, everything gets put on hold and I'm obsessed. I can easily sit through a 3+ hour baseball game...while simultaneously tweeting my joy and angst.

The games this weekend boast some excellent pitching match-ups. Tonight: Pettitte (9-6) vs. Penny (7-7), Saturday: Burnett (10-6) vs. Tazawa (1-2), and Sunday: Sabathia (14-7) vs. Beckett (14-4). The Sunday game being the highly anticipated game with the Ace of each team hitting the mound.

With the Red Sox 6.5 games back of the Yankees in the AL East, this series could really be the turning point for either team. For the Yankees, another sweep is unlikely (they just swept the Sox 4 games in New York a couple weeks ago) but obviously preferred. Ideally, the Yankees want to take 2 of the 3 games to further solidify their AL East lead. The Yanks have been hot since the All-Star Break at the beginning of July, boasting the MLB's best (second half) record of 25-9, showing a significant improvement in their pitching staff. But the Yanks are winless at Fenway this season, and after the sweep in the last series, the pressure is on.

The Red Sox on the other hand are trying to claw their way back to the top of the AL East. Or at least within striking distance of the Yankees. Heck, at this point the Red Sox just need to gain some sort of consistency to stay at the top of the Wild Card since the Rangers are hot on their heels. They definitely don't want to see a repeat performance of 2006, where they dropped a 5 set to the Yankees and fell to 3rd in the AL East. The Red Sox have been inconsistent since the All-Star Break, losing series to both the Yanks and Rangers, teams they need to beat. Taking that into consideration plus the previously mentioned fact that the Yankees haven't won at Fenway this year, and the Sox are finding themselves in hot water. They need this series to go well, which never bodes well for performance.

All in all, for the AL East this is shaping up to be a very interesting weekend. I can't wait to catch the games...most likely on my computer. ESPN Canada, where are you?!

Can it be? Have we really come across the 'perfect' jean? Seems too good to be true, doesn't it? Well, the folks at IndiDenim seem to have done just that. Say hello to custom jeans

While IndiDemin isn't the first company to venture into the realm of custom-made jeans, they do seem like they have the most staying power. Other custom denim websites haven't been updated in a few years and just lack the layout and class that the Indi site has. Aside from that, Indi looks to have a great customer service system, boasting not only telephone and email assistance, but also a live chat option. In addition, should it be that you aren't satisfied with your jeans, you can return them and if you want re-order to reflect any changes. They pay for the shipping! Another great thing is that if you are satisfied with your jeans, Indi stores the style in your "Digital Closet", so that you can order the same pair with just the click of your mouse.

I went through the process to create my own jeans (to scope things out) and with all the questions I was asked, not only about style of jean I want, but also about my measurements, body type, and issues I typically have when wearing jeans (gaping, too tight in one area while being too big in others, etc.).

Indi provides you with 20 different types of denim to choose from, including both Spanish and Japanese denim. Along with 29 different pocket designs, 10 different washes, 7 hem types, you're sure to create the jeans you've been longing to find.

My jeans came out to $160, which, for the perfect jeans, isn't much at all. After tax, $168. Shipping is free!

I am a bit wary that shopping is free, only because I don't see how they are able to ship from the USA to Canada, unless they just eat the costs. I only say this because I'm a ShoeDazzle member and they charge for shipping to Canada while the USA is free. It also seems a bit too good to be true, doesn't it? While it's very possible that it is true, I'm definitely going to have to believe it when I see it.

Has anyone tried or even heard of IndiDenim before? What are your thoughts?

I had been thinking about starting a blog for sometime now, but I never really got around to it, there was always something stopping me. It wasn't until I had a couple people say to me, "You should totally start a blog!" that I began to seriously reconsider. With the encouragement of Mike I made my decision, and the Haus of Hybrid was born.

Well, it wasn't that easy. Anyone who knows me, knows that when faced with a decision that gets even remotely beyond the realm of something like "do you prefer apples or oranges?" I am floored. Total indecision. So it's no real surprise that I hummed and hawed for a couple days before finally settling on a name.

The inspiration for the name, Haus of Hybrid, also came from Mike. Being of mixed ethnicity, Mike has a tendancy to call me a 'hybrid' (as opposed to the more popular term 'halfer'). It's kind of a unique word, something that you don't hear too often. But it also has a second meaning when pertaining to my blog. While there will definitely be areas that I will focus on a bit more, I wanted to make sure that I was creating a brand that defined me and all my interests. So as a result, 'Hybrid' also means that I will be covering a multitude of areas. 'Haus' came from my interest in fashion. The larger, more dominant designers are often described as being Houses. This got me thinking a bit more and I remembered that Lady GaGa had labeled her "brand" the Haus of GaGa (Haus being the German word for 'house'). And since 'Haus' sounds infinitely cooler than 'House', well, the rest os history. And so, the Haus of Hybrid was born.